


The Kids Are Alright

by cymrymira



Series: The Adventures of Kit and Leona and a Few Other Friends! [20]
Category: Original characters - Fandom, World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 15:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 15,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17185580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cymrymira/pseuds/cymrymira
Summary: Collection of Prompts and glimpses into the future for Leona and Neri and their friends and loved ones.





	1. Video Games

**Author's Note:**

> Not that far off, may have actually already happened.

**Video Games**

“Wotcha doin’?”  
  
Leona glanced behind her as Neri flopped on the couch, “Testing a simulator,” she said as she held up her controller, “Wanna watch?”  
  
Neri blinked, looking from the device in Leona’s hand to the box, then to the monitor that had been newly installed in their apartment, “Oh! It’s like them games on the goggles? Only big?”  
  
“Yeah! See, I control this character here, and she’s an explorer, so…”  
  
“…didja seriously name her that?”  
  
Leona blinked, “What? It’s a good name?”  
  
“…Sashimi…” she looked at her friend, “Seriously, d'ya name  _everythin’_  after food?”  
  
That was met with puffed out cheeks as the red-head tried to think of something truly devastating, then sighed in defeat, “Okay, so you move around like this and you press this button to swing your sword and this one to jump…”  
  
“Don’t you need to defend?”  
  
“…Not if you hit the monsters fast enough!” Leona puffed out her cheeks again as Neri giggled and pressed another button, “Alright, so first I need to talk to the guy at the star on this map. Let’s see what adventure got programmed in here.”  
  
“Oh watch out for t’big guy!”   
  
“I got him! I got him!”  
  
“Gor! Why’s he attackin’ ya?”  
  
“Uh… Probably because Sashimi’s one of the last dragon princesses that can defeat the Evil Empire. Want me to start over so you can see the intro? I’m only a few minutes in.”  
  
“Can we name her somethin’  _other_  than Sashimi?”  
  
“…no.”  
  
Neri giggled, “Fine. But I name t’next character that pops up!”  
  
“Deal.”


	2. Religion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that far off in the future, maybe a few years.  
> From the prompt: Prompt time! Since I’m giving American Gods a watch, try this on for size: What are your characters beliefs? Do they have any? Are they paragons of Light, harbingers of Void or somewhere in between?

**Religion**

Spring was in the air.  
  
Neri was already humming as she planted seeds for new flowers in the apartment, and Leona’s nose was already running, the red-head escaping mostly to her sea cave where her allergies would not follow.  
  
She had work to do anyways. It was almost time.  
  
If you asked her what her beliefs were, Leona would have a hard time answering. She didn’t really take the Light or the Void as something to be believed in, she had witnessed the latter twisting loved ones apart, and the former… she still had nightmares about what the Masters of Light did to Mama and Ms. Raine.  
  
Her opinion on all but one of the Titans was that they were spoiled brats. The few months she spent in Skyhold as a child when Odyn kidnapped her pretty much destroyed any possible worship there, and the Titan that was the exception, Azeroth, was more an aunt to her than anything else.   
  
She did  _understand_  why Neri worshipped the Earth Mother, but the whispers coming from deep within the planet were nothing that she felt inspiring, and mostly Uncle Vonic’s voices were there as well… which made her ask Papa last year if Uncle had married Azeroth.  
  
Varotin had stared at her for a few moments before bursting into laughter and agreeing that it was possible.  
  
The sun started to rise, somewhere Ms. Raine was singing in the dawn, and Leona paused what she was doing and watched as the ocean started to turn so many different colors.

  
What did she believe in?  
  
The wind started to rise and the waves crashed on the shore, and Leona got back to work on her boat, almost finished now, she’d be just in time for the yearly ceremony she and Neri had, the conditions were almost perfect.  
  
She took the last few weeks before Noblegarden to do this. She’d sand and oil and patch her outrigger canoe and Neri would make new sails for her. And then the night before Noblegarden started, both would have a festival of sorts on the beach in front of her sea cave.  
  
Talah, Haidee, and Xavier were always invited of course. So was everyone else.   
The customs were all their own, and at first it had started an almost game to the children. They’d plant a succulent on her cave and then start a bonfire. The first year they had laughed and danced around it, not realizing what they were starting.  
  
Five years after, Leona was beginning to have an idea.  
  
Flowers had been added the year after that, Neri made them both crowns, and Leona played a song on her bodhran as they danced. The year after, they agreed that if they were planting a succulent for Uncle Rizzy (because he had taught Leona sailing), then they’d have to eat noodles at the ceremony too. Then the next year, it was suggested that when morning came, someone would sing like Ms. Raine did as Leona pushed off into the water.  
  
Every year they thought of something new and their little ceremony was growing into a festival. She had even invited the Rookery this year, she was going to give the whelplings rides after her first round of the island, and there were barges for the children to push into the water.  
  
After that… Leona wouldn’t be on the island that much. She’d be sailing as much as she could, running treasure hunts for those odd relic missions that used to give Lyren headaches, or looking for lost whelps, or any number of things she did for Atlas (and a few things she did for the Conclave).   
  
Spring was the time for the ocean.  
  
What did she believe?  
  
Voices sounded behind her and Leona grinned as she turned to face those coming to the beach.  
  
That was easy. There were two things she believed in above all others.  
  
The sunrise after a storm at sea.  
  
And those she counted as her family. All the ones she loved, all the ones she was growing strong to protect as a child, now ones that she relied on their strength as well.  
  
Nothing else mattered. 


	3. Roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four years or so off at this point.

**Roommates**

Around the time Neri turns eighteen, they decide to get their own apartment. It’s actually a pretty large one, with a big living area and kitchen, and they each have three rooms, their bedroom, a bathroom, and a hobby room.

The living room faces the ocean and is always kept as bright and welcoming as possible.

  
Neri’s hobby room is obviously her sewing room, which is at any time covered with fabrics, dresses, and at least fifteen different designs she’s working on. Both it and her bedroom are covered with bright floral patterns and loads of actual flowers that she’s gardening for tea and dyes (well also the pretty).

Once it was discovered that Leona was highly allergic to her flowers, they were all moved to Neri’s half of the apartment, with only succulents and the small herb garden on the patio staying elsewhere.

On the opposite side of the apartment, Leona’s hobby room is a mixture between a library and weapons room, and is full of bookcases and has her collection of swords on the walls. Or in umbrella stands. Or… well, some are hanging from the ceilings… and let’s face it, both books and weapons spill into her bedroom. There’s a large table she has that has a pile of gems and jewelry she’s working on, usually just whatever the stones want, though she does do custom pieces to order (with cooperation from the gems) for Neri’s designs. The colors in her rooms are generally jewel-toned and not patterned, and kept warm and comfortable… she avoids having it too dark, because damnit she’s not living in a cave!  
  


…her sea cave is right under the apartment and she has a pathway from her bedroom window to it for reasons. 


	4. Love is In The Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five or so years off, maybe not even that long.

**Love is In the Air**

She was going to have to mark this another holiday that Udon was  _not_  allowed in public, and the red-haired teen growled as she glanced up at the overly happy noodle-dragon on her head as he spritzed perfume on lonely seeming people and snickered about the results.  
  
“I take no responsib'ty for this one,” Neri giggled, the older girl linking her arm with Leona, “Oh… we should get some of them loverly dresses!”  
  
 _“No,”_  followed by a pointed glare, “You said you needed things for the Lunar Festival, I don’t celebrate this silly holiday.”  
  
That was answered with a large pout and a leaned head on her shoulder and she sighed in defeat, “ _Fine_. We’ll make chocolates, alright?”  
  
“Yay! Ona’ y'do love me!”  
  
“But you can only pick three dates to give them too,” Leona smirked as she crossed her arms.  
  
Neri’s eyes widened and she turned bright red, “…FINE! But  _you_ gotta confess!”  
  
Leona’s eyes widened at that and she swallowed, “Fine!” she said as she puffed out her cheeks, “Come on! We’ve got more shopping to do… UDON STOP SPRAYING THOSE POOR PEOPLE!”  
  
It took another hour to get the overly romantic ranger and the noodle on a mission out of Silvermoon and back to their apartment, and then the three were busy in their kitchen.  
  
Or rather, Leona and Udon were. Neri went to her sewing room to make new dresses for them to deliver the chocolates in, quoting,“Presentation!” as her reasoning.  
  
The dragon felt the incoming sense of doom, and frowned as she poured the chocolate into the molds and ignored Udon who was licking the melting pot.  
  
 _“DON’T YOU DARE!”  
_  
Leona jumped as Neri burst back into the room, the older girl’s hand on her hip as she pointed at her friend, “You’re thinking of giving them to Papa Zaer and confessin’ that he’s like a second father!”  
  
“I am not!”  
  
“OR to Mr. Lyn and saying he’s the best boss ever!”  
  
 _“I wasn’t!”  
_  
Neri stomped across the kitchen, “This is for your own good ‘Ona!” she said as she took a pink bottle from the shelf and poured out a teaspoon, “As your Sworn, I’m gonna make sure you confess proper for once in your life! You PROMISED! 'Sides, I ain’t 'bout t'lose the bettin’ pool to Lis  _this_  close to payday!”  
  
Leona had wide eyes at the concoction, “That’s…”  
  
“Your mother’s attraction potion,” Neri smirked, “Open wide.”

She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.  
  
“I was thinking of having a party next week… think we can fit in twenty in here?” Neri tapped her chin, “I mean, I know the last time…”  
  
“DON’T YOU DARE!” Leona exclaimed, then turned green as the spoon popped inside her mouth.  
  
Neri grinned and kissed her cheek, “I’ll make sure you look be'utiful too,” she said, “Got a right pretty dress for you, with shinies!”  
  
“I’ll tell Lis you cheated!”  
  
“Go right 'head! I’ll just blame it on the hol'day!” she went back to her room and giggled as she closed the door, placing the bottle of pink liquid next to a near identical one in her drawer, then fell to the floor and hugged her side as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.  
  
“I’ll tell her t’truth later. This’ll just be  _worth_  it.”


	5. Hiccups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this actually already happened (Soon after Neri was rescued in fact!)

**Hiccups**

It came all of a sudden, and the first sign that anyone had that something was off was a small rumbling of stones.  
  
“Sorry!” Leona said quickly on the comms, then quickly muted herself almost as another minor earthquake hit.  
  
“…is everything alright?”  
  
“Jus’ peachy!” Neri came on, “We’re jus’ gonna go out to sea, nothin’ t'worry about!”  
  
Everything stilled and no one gave much more thought to it.  
  
Though some noticed after the two had left that the waves around the island had gotten much choppier.  
  
Mira was next on the communicator, “…what’s going on?”  
  
“Nothin’!” Neri promised, “A little storm tha’…” a scream sounded and nearly everyone was about to run to get the two girls out of trouble when they heard the strange sound coming from Leona’s communicator.  
  
“Sorry -hic- I started laughing -hic- and… I…” it muted again, and there was silence for a long while, excepting for the laughter coming from Neri’s communicator.

  
Meanwhile somewhere out at sea, Neri was howling as she clutched her sides and Leona glared at her, not saying anything, though a small hiccup would cause her entire frame to shudder every few seconds.  
  
“Except for t'flame, it hasn’t been  _that_ bad,” the older girl giggled as she wiped her eyes and sat up in the boat, “Come on, we need t'shock them out of ya, and there’s only one way t'do THAT.”  
  
“WHAT -hic- WAY?!?” Leona said with wide eyes.  
  
“Cure f'everythin’, True Love’s Kiss,” Neri whistled as the dragon turned about the shade of her hair and flopped down.


	6. Safe Harbor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten or so years off in the future

**Safe Harbor**

The building was unused and out of the way, but the small fishing village was getting more traffic as the new harbor got built up, and both predicted that one day it’d be a viable port anyways, so Leona cashed in a few gems from her hoard to buy it outright, and she and Neri spent a month cleaning the upstairs apartment and store downstairs.  
  
Davon and his husband moved in next door (Neri suspected Leona bought that house too and gave it to them as a wedding present), and Merry and Doolie moved in on the other side (Neri also suspected  _that_  house was a birthday present and she noted she  _needed_  to talk to her dragon about  _not_  inflating the currency rates with her gems), and all three helped with the preparing of the shop to open, Davon’s husband would run it while Neri was on the sea with Leona, and Doolie was her first apprentice, as Merry insisted on being a sailor like her father.  
  
Which was fine, when Leona finally got her ship, it would need a crew.  
  
The dragon was rather excited over that prospect, though she tried her best to hide it as she went back and forth between her Uncle’s homes and Atlas, pouring over plans and blueprints, taking the boat she had been given a few years back as a birthday present out on the water and marking navigation maps.  
  
The village was going to be their safe port, almost all the money going into the harbor being built was from a secret investor, though Neri  _knew_  that Leona had a great deal more in her hoard before they came out here. It was Pandaria, so the territory was neutral, and would more than likely stay that way, neither the Alliance or Horde had much else to do with the continent after the Siege, excepting for trade routes, and both had their official ports and left the rest alone for the most part, and that was over ten years ago. Both factions had been kept rather busy on the rest of the world and their troubles since.  
  
A few months after the shop opened, rumors of a haunted cave down the beach caused both Neri and Davon to roll their eyes at Leona, who pretended she didn’t know what any of them were talking about, but winked at Doolie when she asked if maybe there was a dragon living in secret there. The harbor was nearly finished, and the tailor shop was well-established, and the village was beginning to show more signs of life, and Leona collected a few more gems to cash in before going to the shipwright’s and commissioning her ship.  
  
Davon and Neri giggled over it during lunch one day, looking around and noticing the growing port.   
  
“Gor, jus’ think, we were those kids,” Neri said wistfully as she looked at a group of Pandaren children running around some old fishing boats left on the beach.  
  
“We’re luckier,” Davon said quietly, then smiled, “Jus’ think, we own over half t'port now. Back then we were strugglin’ t'eat more than a piece of what Bes’s sis could get us at t'place she worked at.”  
  
“Or hope your ma got a good tip,” she sighed, “Davey, I’m gonna keep designin’, but… I think I’m going t'give you two the shop.”  
  
He nodded, “Figured as much.”  
  
Neri blinked, then stared at him, “…y'not gonna ask  _why_?”  
  
“Ownin’ a dress shop and marryin’ a noble hadn’t been your dream in years An. It really wasn’t your dream when we was kids, you jus’ liked makin’ pretty things and makin’ everyone smile,” he glanced at her, “You were ‘fraid of it, but you stared at the ocean with the same look that 'Ona does.”  
  
“…just keep my flowers watered?”  
  
“ _Hell_  An, I’m a better gardener than you are. You keep 'Ona safe, and either you or Talah tell her t'stop spending all them gems.”  
  
Neri chuckled, “I’m tryin’ but I swear she pulls them out of thin air sometimes!” **  
**  
It wasn’t her original plan. Marry rich and make dresses for nobility.  
  
But… being a dragonsworn pirate was close. Besides, there was no telling what the future held.


	7. Dragon Henna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two to three years in the future.

**Dragon Henna**

Being a dragon with rather emotional based powers was more than a tad stressful for the teenaged Leona, but at least she was  _starting_ to be in far more control of said emotions than she was a few years ago.  
  
Part of that currently was due to the small paint brush Neri was using on her scales, some sort of spiced smelling oil that just felt  _divine_  as she laid on her belly in the sun.  
  
“This may jus’ be m'greatest idea yet,” Neri grinned, “Fashion for your scales. It’d fit great with t'scarf.”  
  
“You’ll have a line at the Rookery,” Leona agreed, “This is just…  _nice_. And if you make a soothing one for shedding season, that’d be in high demand.”  
  
“I’ll have to get s'more herbs for that, but I bet I can ask Ms. Raine to help,” Neri made one last swirl, “Alright. We’ll do the ultimate test in a bit an’ see if it goes between forms.”  
  
“You didn’t paint anything  _weird_  on me, did you?”  
  
“Jus’ ‘I love Talah’ on this scale r'chere,” she giggled as she pointed to a spot right above Leona’s tail, “If that goes over, he’d have a hard time seeing it, no worries!”  
  
“NERI!” the small black dragon was gone, replaced by a dark-skinned red-head who glared at her sworn, then looked over her shoulder, “…Do you see any of them?”  
  
“Not a damn one, now get back to dragon so they can dry  _properly_ ,” Neri sighed as her friend reverted, “I guess this means we’ll have to go get matching henna sometime.”  
  
“…I’m surprised you want to.”  
  
“Just because  _one_  person had Old God ink doesn’t mean they _all_  do.”  
  
“This explains your relationship history somewhat,” Leona stuck out her tongue as Neri started on another scale, “What was your last date? He tried to sacrifice you?”  
  
“I’m beginning to see what Lis and Ellyri mean,” she muttered, “I shoulda knew somethin’ was up when he kept askin’ all them personal questions on the first date.”  
  
“ _That_  was your first clue?”  
  
Neri puffed out her cheeks and dipped her paint brush in the inkwell, “Jus’ for tha’…”  
  
“STOP PAINTING WEIRD THINGS ON MY SCALES!”  
  
“You can’t say a  _damn_  thin’ about my datin’ habits when you call _your_ dates missions!”  
  
“Those are missions!” Leona retorted, “We’re just doing things we like.”  
  
“Oh sure, I bet y'haven’t even kissed properly yet!”  
  
“Oh like that’s  _your_  business!”  
  
Neri grinned, “I got money ridin’ on it, so sure it is,” she painted another scale, “Man, he’s going to laugh so hard when he sees this!”  
  
“I said no weird things!”  
  
“It’s not weird! You’re jus’ a prude!”  
  
“Am not! And stop betting on my love life!”


	8. Zandalari Bazaar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this hasn't already happened, it will within the next few months.

**Zandalari Bazaar**

“GOR! Lookit t'marke’place here! Goin’ be loads of fabrics and dyes!”  
  
“I bet I can find all sorts of swords and books!”  
  
“LOOK AT THE FOOD!”  
  
Neri, Leona, and Haidee all started to giggle, “Alright, I guess we need to get the things for Mama first, then we can look at everything else,” Leona said, taking out a list, “I’ve got some money saved up, so I’ll treat everyone today.”  
  
“Not t'only one w'money saved,” Neri grinned, “Oh, look, they got a kiddie area too.”  
  
“The Cartel’s already added to it,” Leona whistled, “Look at that claw machine, so many people are going to lose their money on that.”  
  
“Yeah, t'biggest scam. I remember when they put one in t’Port, Sasha and Merry winded up cryin’ cause they’d never get one of t'animals.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Haidee asked, “What’s in there?”  
  
“Usually it’s dolls or stuffed animals depending,” Leona explained, “But the controls are really twitchy on loads of them, and some of them are fixed to never actually pick anything up. So you can put as much silver in as you want, you’ll never win anything. Come on, let’s go get Mama’s stuff and then we’ll go find the food carts.”  
  
“That’s boring, I want to see what’s in the claw machine,” Haidee started to head towards the kid section, “And I can play on the swings too.”  
  
Neri giggled, “I’ll come with. ‘Ona’s got Opal, so she’ll call out for help, plus there’s a shadow following her anyways,” she winked as she followed after the hooded girl, “Better hurry up though,” she called back, “You get in trouble way too much!”  
  
 _“Look who’s talking!”_  Leona waved, then sighed, looking over her mother’s list, “This shouldn’t take too long, at least Zandarali seems to support blood magic…”

An hour later, she was heading back to the kiddie area of the market, and paused in surprise at the gathering crowd, and pushed her way to see Haidee crying at the crane machine, “What’s going on?”

“Ona, than’ god!” Neri gasped, “She just started, saying that her frien’s in there, and was beggin’ for the crane guy to open it up so she could get 'er.”  
  
Leona blinked, then handed Neri the packages and went to grab Haidee, “Where?” she asked looking into the machine, “I don’t see a doll… they’re all dinosaurs.”  
  
“She’s…sniff… she’s under them! See right there?” she pointed to an arm sticking out, “That’s  _mine_! That’s one of my first ones that I thought to be LOST and she’s there and I have to save her!”  
  
Leona chewed the inside of her cheek, then reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her money pouch, “Neri, can you put Mama’s things in the safety compartment of your bag and convert the rest of this to silver?” she asked taking out a pile of coins and handing the pouch to her, “I never did one of these before, it might take me awhile to get the hang of it. And I’ve got to get the stuff on top of the doll first.”  
  
“You’ll really do that?” Haidee stopped crying.  
  
“Well, Zaer could use some new toys for the Rookery!” she took a deep breath and plopped in the first silver as Neri ran off to get change.  
  
The first five attempts were absolute failures, by the time she was putting in the sixth silver, Neri had returned with a large bag of coins and was grabbing Haidee’s arm, “Calm down,” she whispered, pitching her voice so that only they could hear, “Y'know 'Ona’s gonna get it for you, tell your friends that they can’t come here wit’ all t'people around.”  
  
“That’s  _just_  Plan B,” Haidee said in her defense, “Leona you suck at this!”  
  
“…I’m getting it,” Leona said as she put in a seventh coin, resisting the urge to give Neri a look, she had no idea that she could see the shadow beasts that took care of Haidee, which meant there were more after effects of…  
  
She puffed out her cheeks, best to not think about it now, she had to concentrate.  
  
“Y'hand-eye coordination sucks,” Neri sighed, “You still close your eyes in fightin’. Want me to ask Talah if he can…”  
  
“No, I’ve got this,” Leona said, and beamed, the tenth coin had paid off, she managed to grab the leg of one of the dinosaurs, “Just a little more practice. I’ll get you that doll Haidee.”  
  
“…she’s on the other side of the case.”  
  
“Have s'faith! 'Ona’s got this!” Neri didn’t sound as sure as she usually did, and Leona scrunched her nose in thought, putting in the eleventh coin now.  
  
It took hours. The sun was beginning to set and she was running low on coins, though there weren’t that many stuffed things left in the case, just the doll and two more dinosaur plushies.  
  
A small crowd had surrounded them, Neri had given some of the dinosaur plushies away to some troll children, though Haidee grabbed one for herself, the rest of them were put away to be given to the Rookery later. The Bazaar seemed to be shutting down for the night, something if Leona had been paying attention to, would have made her a little upset, she really  _did_  want to go see the dancing and fighting demonstrations and look at the booksellers and blacksmiths.  
  
Neri left for a second to go grab something from one of the food vendors before he closed and Leona placed in the second to last silver she had, her eyes only seeing the claw and the doll now.  
  
Missed again, but at least she got both the dinosaur plushies for the Rookery, but…  
  
She took out her last coin, placed it into the slot.  
  
Haidee barely breathed, Leona wasn’t sure if  _she_  was breathing, and she moved the controls.  
  
It managed to land right on the doll, now to see if it’d pick up…   
  
Now to not drop it…  
  
 _SUCCESS!_  
  
“You did it!” Haidee was hugging her, “I was so worried, but you did it! You got her back for me!” she paused, then grabbed the doll from the prize slot, “About time! Leona! No wonder you think these things are scams!”  
  
Neri grinned as she returned with their dinners, “She jus’ needed trainin’! Y'know how 'Ona is!”  
  
Her eyes hurt, and Leona rubbed at them, “Come on, We better get back before Mama gets too worried about us.”


	9. Summer and Popscicles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two prompts in for the price of one.  
> Slightly AUish in the first one, but both are about two or three years off.

**Summer and Popscicles**

"No, no, not th'one, nope… GOR! Most importan’ decision of t'year and I can’t find a single suitable one!”  
  
Leona blinked and looked over at Neri, “…it’s just a swimsuit…”  
  
“JUS’ A SWIM… GOR!” she grabbed the red-head’s arm and dragged her to the next store, “We star’ our summer jobs in two weeks and we gotta be t'cutest ones on t'beach!”  
  
“Neri, I’m doing odd jobs for Uncle, I just going to wear shorts and a t-shirt. And sneakers so I can run.”  
  
That earned her a glare, “You  _have_  a boyfrien’.”  
  
“For the last time, Talah’s not…”  
  
“AN’ HE WON’T BE CAUSE YOU DON’T GET CUTE FOR HIM!”  
  
Leona sighed, dropping the argument for now and just followed Neri to the next store to see her reject all the swimsuits there.  
  
“I’M NEVER GETTING A LOVER!”  
  
“You’re fifteen, you don’t need one.”  
  
“SIXTEEN IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND I WANT A BOYFRIEND TH'YEAR DAMNIT,” Neri paused, “Or girlfriend. I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO TELL ME I’M CUTE AN’ TAKE ME OUT T'DINNER!”  
  
“…Neri.”

“Wha?”  
  
“You’re cute. I’ll pick you up at seven.”  
  
Neri stared at Leona, then puffed out her cheeks, “YOU’VE GOT NO TASTE!”  
  
“Look, if I help find you someone, will you please shut up about it?”  
  
“No. But if you wear this, I might,” Neri grinned as she handed Leona a suit, “Not suitable for me, but it’d be cute on you.”  
  
Leona held up the polka dot one piece, “It’s got a ruffle butt.”  
  
Neri grinned, “You got no chest, so it suits you. An’ better bring Haidee and Talah along, they’d get mad if we went to dinner by ourselves.”

* * *

“Gor… why is it so hot…”  
  
“This suuuuuucks.”  
  
The two girls were sitting in their living room with the windows to the beach wide open and three fans blowing at high capacity, Neri was in a cami and shorts, Leona was in her dragon form, about the size of a wolfhound by this time. Maps were spread out around them, they had been in the midst of planning another adventure when they took a break for popsicles that didn’t exactly help.  
  
The dragon yawned, “Maybe we should just go somewhere that’s frozen.”  
  
“I do have s'good designs for cloaks,” Neri agreed, “We’d have to wait until sunset to go to the boat, it’s waaaaaay too hot out there.”  
  
“I can sail at night no worries. When’s the air cooler getting fixed?”  
  
“Not until next week.”  
  
Both sighed wearily.  
  
“Come on,” Leona switched back to her elf form and picked up one of the maps, “We’ve got to be serious about this, no matter how gods forsaken hot it is.”  
  
Neri nodded and handed her friend her t-shirt and shorts, “It’s not like we know when his birthday is.”  
  
“Midsummer present then,” she grinned as she got dressed, “Now help me think of what to get him!”  
  
Neri gave her an impish grin, “I can think of a few things…” she teased, “More popsicles?”  
  
“Please…HEY!” She puffed her cheeks out as Neri fell to the floor laughing, “That’s not funny!”

 


	10. Sunflower Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About five to ten years off!

**Sunflower Festival**

“Alrigh’ everyone ‘member the rules? Keep your ‘guises on an’ we keep w’our buddies!” Neri grinned, “It’s a safe place, so other than tha’, have some fun!”

Leona smiled at the twelve children, then turned her attention to the controls of the hot air balloon, “We’ll be landing at the farm soon. If you do feel your disguise failing, Merry or Andre will help you get it back. But don’t panic. They know what you are.”

Most of them were elves, with shocks of color in their hair being the only clue that they were anything else, though to match that, Neri’s half-Gilnean cousin had added all colors of the rainbow to her dark braids, and was now sitting and fixing the hair of an Emerald disguised as a troll.

“I wish they had this idea sooner,” grinned Kit’s half-brother, Taladren, “It was just a farm when I was a kid.”

Leona fought the urge to remind him that he still  _was_ , there were  _far too many_  adults on Atlas that would find humor in that, and instead shrugged, “Arymia thought of it just last year. It takes time to do something like this… whop, getting close. Gotta concentrate on landing.”

Almost all of the dragons peeked over the edge of the basket and all started talking at once in excitement at the sight of the massive sunflower field as Leona tugged at the ropes to get the balloon safely on the ground and then tossed the anchor to the dark-haired boy the same age as Merry and Taladren and the sunny Pandaren that greeted them with him.  
  
“Andre! Litsu!” Neri climbed out to help the others get down, “You made it even bigger tha’ expected, we’re gonna have loads o’fun.”

“We are only too happy to have you all join the open house,” Litsu bowed as Taladren tackled the shorter boy in a hug, “Andre has missed you as well, Young Master.”

“He better have missed me too!” Merry called as she got down from the balloon, then promptly tripped and fell as about three of the dragon-elves landed on her.  
  
“…Careful guys,” Leona said, “It’s a bit of a jump out of the basket… Neri, will you pay attention so they can get to the festival?”

“Arymia and Dunath have agreed to watch the children with me so that you two can have a good time as well,” Litsu smiled, “It is a festival for all of Raine’s children.”

“…but they aren’t…” Taladren started and closed his mouth at her look.

“Come along children, who wants to have much fun! We have hidden a treasure in the maze! And slides! And a petting zoo… please no eating the animals, we have prepared a large meal for you. And you all get to take some of the flowers home!” Litsu clapped her hands and lined the children up, leaving Neri and Leona at the balloon.  
  
“Y’know we haven’t been in ages to t’faire,” Neri grinned, “And when we were their age, we were too busy getting killed.”

Leona sighed then slowly smiled, “Does look like a lot of fun. And Litsu’s pretty on top of things. We still have to keep our eye on them… but I do kinda want to do that gem mining thing they have. And the strength bell test…” she blushed, “Er… there’s a pie eating contest too…”

Neri blinked, “You think enough were baked? I’ve  _seen_  you unhinge your jaw before.”

_“You did not.”_

“You sure? Because I remember getting kicked out of the last five buffets with you,” she stuck out her tongue, “Still… nine dragons, ten counting you, and that bottomless pit of my cousin… They better have made a  _lot_  of pies…”

“They know what they’re getting into…” Leona’s voice trailed off, “…I’m  _mostly_  sure that they… come on, we better catch up to the kids.”

Neri giggled and followed right behind her as she rushed through the sunflower maze.


	11. Neri the Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more of a character examination than anything else

**Neri the Brave**

It was exhausting to join Leona in her morning routine, and there was a time that she thought she could  _never_  keep up, and another time that she  _knew_  that she couldn’t, yet kept trying anyways, even when her body screamed out in pain and frustration, and even when it seemed like she couldn’t go another step.  
  
Her weapon of choice wasn’t a pair of large swords, instead she had decided that a spear fashioned after the style of her adopted father’s tribe was far more elegant for melee, and the longbow better suited for her normal style of keeping as far as possible away from the enemy.  
  
Somewhere in the back of her mind, memories of balls with her mother and father still remained, back when she was very young, back long before the Scourge had marched through Silvermoon, though not near as long as that happiness should have lasted. Her cousin Davon would often be the one dancing with her, coming with his parents to the same balls, his father and her mother were close siblings, despite his being a Knight and her being a Ranger, and those memories found their way into her fighting style, like Leona, she danced with both her weapons. Her movements were more like flowing water, a natural grace from her birth-race that had been near forgotten by so many in the aftermath of the destruction and the years of war.  
  
Over the years, she and Leona had found the best ways to fight together, and practiced it everywhere, even when on the docks of Darkmoon with their small band, Neri on the strange dwarvish pipe instrument she had somehow fallen in love with during her healing process in the beginnings of the Lordaeron battle and that war, and Leona on the drums, both dancing and wearing costumes that she had designed and sewn for them, and when it was time for Leona’s tightrope act, she’d stay behind and watch the people coming and going.  
  
That was a habit she had ever since she had first come to live with her aunt. Once she thought she’d find a handsome prince or lord that would take her far away from the Port and make her never want for anything. She dreamed of that for years, even making Davon dress up so that she could practice and everything would be  _just perfect_ when her prince did come.  
  
He never did. Instead Leona showed up a few months before her thirteenth birthday, and she had her first real friend (Davon didn’t count, he had to be her friend. It just so happened that they liked each other), and with it slowly came the realizations that maybe she should be the one saving herself.  
  
Granted, she made mistakes. Joining the Farstriders shouldn’t have ended the way it did… but as soon as that splinter group of the Dark Rangers and Apothecaries appeared, despite all the warning signs, she didn’t run, not wanting to go back to the Port and start paying her debts to the Madame that housed her aunt, and not wanting to rely purely on Da or Leona to get her out of both situations. This was  _her_ decision,  _she_  was responsible for those that had trained with her. She would take care of it and her sister-rangers.  
  
She never knew that one could betray her other sisters. At that young age, it was unthinkable, despite growing in a Port town and a brothel. Adults did that sort of thing, but…  
  
When she was pulled out of there, it was a harsh new beginning for her.   
  
There were more mistakes, a  _lot_ more, but most of those were normal missteps from growing up, and she didn’t make them alone, she had her Da and her friends and their parents, and she still had Davon, he stayed behind when his mom and sisters moved to the freeport in Kul Tiras.  
  
Her prince probably would never come.  
  
But it didn’t matter, Neri outgrew that dream a long time ago. She wasn’t a ranger like her mother, not even close, instead of guarding the home forests of Quel'thalas, she went on relic hunts and adventures the world over, not owing allegiance to anyone but Leona and whoever they were working for at the time. Mostly they were on the side of justice, there were mistakes made there too, but it was getting harder to trick the two, and they had learned from the mistakes in their childhood of who to trust, and both agreed that Lisaerys and Zaerathian were at the top of the list (with their parents right below those two).  
  
Her wardrobe (and whoever else would allow her to make clothes for them) rivaled that of any noble she remembered in her very young childhood, though Neri concentrated mostly on armor now instead of dresses, and after every mission, she’d go with her sketchbook to morning training, noting the injuries and adjusting her designs, muting the colors here and there, though she kept careful track of who liked what, and designed accordingly, not all she worked on was for combat after all. There were festivals and market and all sorts of other things, and outfits for those were bright and cheerful… or at least had small bright pops of color for those that prefer not to call attention to themselves.  
  
All in all, she was happy.  
  
Even if her prince never came, her dragon  _did_. And with Leona came Talah and Haidee and all the people she now cared about, that cared about her. Her mistakes she learned from, her wounds healed, and she was happy. A little unsure at times, a lot louder than everyone else, but there were no regrets. And if one cropped up, she resolved it as quickly as she could… this time asking for help as soon as she realized she needed it.  
  
Neri wasn’t afraid of what tomorrow might bring. No matter what it was, she’d face it head on and come out the other side, and this time, _she’d_ be the one protecting the dragon that couldn’t fly.


	12. Muscles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of a prompt challenge I started and never sadly finished.  
> 1\. 💪 - muscles - strength, fitness, confidence. That go get ‘em, we can go it attitude. I also use this emoji for shaking my fist at Youths “get off my lawn” style.
> 
> I went with “Building Muscle” for this one. Set anywhere from a few weeks to few months off, but any time after Neri gets her replacement arm, and in two slightly episodic parts.

**Muscle**

##  _Obstacle Course_

“…our dragon is insane…” Haidee said as she stared at the obstacle course, “I mean, I still love her, but she is absolutely insane.”  
  
Leona puffed out her cheeks, “I’m right here. And, no! This is fun! I promise!”  
  
“…‘Ona, didn’t we  _talk_  'bout usin’ choppy smashy bits?” Neri asked, “An’ how’d you get this 'gether? Wouldn’ one of t'adults notice an’ ask…”  
  
“Talah’s already tested it. He didn’t die once!”  
  
“…that’s your selling point,” Both the other girls said in flat unison.  
  
She crossed her arms, “Fine! I’ll prove how much fun it is! Wait here!”  
  
“I’ll go get the doll I used last time,” Haidee said in a loud whisper to Neri as Leona stomped off down towards the Obstacle Course of Certain Doom.  
  
“…Ten gold says she just smashes it with an earthquake when she realizes Talah cheated,” Neri sighed.  
  
Three minutes later a battered and bruised Leona stomped back towards them from the remnants of a rather impressive death trap, “…not one word…”  
  
“…so does this mean we can go back to bed?” Haidee grinned.  
  
“No!”

* * *

##  _Dealin’ W’Dragons (Or W’One Very Small Dragon)_

“I’m dyin’!”  
  
“Come on, it’s not that far.”  
  
“Five miles!”  
  
“…that’s pretty far.”  
  
Leona and Neri made it to the top of the stairway of Dazor’alor, both drenched with sweat and panting as Leona grabbed two water bottles from her bag and handed one to the other girl.  
  
For a moment, neither one talked, both too busy downing the drinks.  
  
“Let me ask somethin’,” Neri said as she finally caught her breath and got another bottle, “…how come? Y'got super strength alrea'y.”  
  
The red-head blinked, “I really don’t. I mean, I’m a tiny dragon.”  
  
“…still got super strength from earth powers. Cause I sure as 'ell didn’t get tha’ shadow flame,”Neri blinked, “…Neither d'you for tha'matter. T'few times I’ve seen it, it’s been orange.”  
  
Leona shrugged, “Even if I do have super strength, I still need to train, otherwise I’ll be relying on something I can’t control. And considering nearly everything works on my emotions, I want something that’s just… there.”  
  
“Makes sense,” she took another chug of water.  
  
“That and well. I like working so hard on it. It’s fun. Kit and I did it all the time, and then Papa just added to it when I got adopted.”  
  
Neri grinned, “…so when we goin’ t'start trainin’ t'dragon stuff?”  
  
Leona blinked, “What stuff?”  
  
“Y'know. Fire breathin’, controllin’ those earthquakes, takin’ y'cute brother up on them wings so y'can fly. He did a good job on m'arm.”  
  
Leona turned bright red, “Um… I keep forgetting to…”  
  
Neri chugged another bit of water, staring at her the whole time, then wiped her mouth, “I get up every mornin’ at a time no livin’ bein’ has right bein’ awake, you can start trainin’ tha’ stuff.”  
  
“I’m a really small dragon.”  
  
“Jus’ 'bout t'size o'housecat… a small one, but still,” she pointed the water bottle at her, “Embarrassin’ or not, you gotta do it. What if we depended on y'firebreath or somethin’? Can’t protect us if y'don’t train it, right?”  
  
Leona’s eyes widened, “…I…”  
  
“An’ bein’ so small, y'can fly out of tight spaces, but only if y'go get them wing prosth'etic’s and learn how,” Neri fought the triumph grin at Leona scrunching her nose in thought, and went in for the kill,“Plus. Haidee and Talah thin’ y’cute in t’form, annnn… Dragon’s don’ have t'wear fancy lace an’ y'got all tha’ armor already. I’d have nothin’ weird t'design f'you.”  
  
Any other person may have considered it an insult to their designs at how quickly that settled things for Leona, but Neri was very used to it by now (besides, there were so many other things she put Leona in).  
  
“…You can still do those scarves… they look kinda cool…”  
  
“Deal. So goin’ t'finally do it?”  
  
Leona nodded, “Gotta get stronger as a dragon, right? What if everyone depended on it!”


	13. Dazed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2\. 😵 - dazed/confused - “How did we end up here? What’s going on? pls halp”  
> The gang gets lost. Which happens far more than a few of them are willing to admit, but this is just not right, even by their standards. Takes place a great deal of time off, if ever. 
> 
> I’ve been in a really depressive state, came up with this idea late at night, and things are not good. That’s the only warning I’ll give you for what happens here.

**Dazed**

**_The Forest:_ **

The four of them had been wandering for hours it seemed, pausing every now and then to check the communicators and try and hail someone, anyone, that could come and pick them up from this dense woods.  
  
“Let’s just find a place to camp,” Talah finally suggested.  
  
“…we shoulda done tha’ forEVER ago, but SOMEONE kept wantin’ t'try…” Neri started, pausing when Leona shot her a glare, “…Oh don’t give me tha’ ‘Ona. My feet hurt an’ this place ain’t natural.”  
  
“…It is weird that our communicators aren’t working,” Leona said quietly, scrunching her nose in thought, “And… you guys noticed?”  
  
“Notice what?” Haidee asked.  
  
“No animals,” Talah and Neri answered, both seeming slightly relieved that someone else had noticed.  
  
“Even the stones are really quiet here,” Leona’s voice lowered, “I’ve been trying to contact them to get us out, but they’re not telling us anything.”  
  
“…next time I’m in charge o'when we camp,” Neri sighed, crossing her arms, “C'mon, I thin’ I see a good place.”  
  
“Please tell me someone brought good rations,” Haidee sighed as she followed behind, “The last time you couldn’t hunt we had to rely on that gross dry stuff.”  
  
“Soldier-rations are 'posed t'be like tha’!”  
  
Talah pulled at Leona’s arm, waiting for the other two to walk off a moment, “Don’t talk to the stones here anymore.”  
  
“One of them may…”  
  
 _“Lee.”  
_  
She puffed out her cheeks, then deflated and sighed, “…one of them would have answered by now if they knew. Don’t try to go through the shadows either. Something’s really not right.”  
  
“Do you remember how we got here?”  
  
Leona’s eyes widened, “…we were chasing after…” she frowned as her nose scrunched in thought, “Talah, what’s going on?”  
  
He didn’t answer, just pulled her after him as he went to catch up with the other two.  
  
Haidee was walking around, every few feet stopping and placing one of her dolls facing out into the dark forest surrounding them, “Talah, tell me  _you_  packed something, Neri’s only got those nasty crackers wrapped with leaves.”  
  
“They’re a full meal!”  
  
“And they taste like dirt!”  
  
He rolled his eyes and stepped over to relieve Neri from dinner duty, who only gave up with token resistance and went to get their bedrolls out.  
  
Leona chewed the inside of her cheek, “We should set watches tonight. And fire’s probably a bad idea.”  
  
Haidee pointed to her dolls, “I’ve got watches set. And it’s cold. We don’t  _know_  anything’s after us.”  
  
“We don’t know anything’s  _not_ , and you sleep through their alarms. I’ll… just make us a cave and we can pile up like normal, alright?”  
  
“Not sleeping anyways,” Talah said as he glanced out into the woods, “And something  _is_  after us.”  
  
Neri shivered as she stepped closer to the others. Leona puffed out her cheeks and began clearing a small circle before slamming her hands down to shape the earth beneath into a place for them to rest. The four were quiet as they finished camp prep and dinner, and Neri and Haidee went to sleep bed, leaving the other two at the entrance of the cave to watch the forest around them.  
  
Leona didn’t remember falling asleep.  
  
Talah was gone the next morning when she woke up.  
  
“He went to scout ahead,” Haidee explained quietly, hugging one of her dolls as Neri packed up what little there was, “He said to catch up when we can.”  
  
“How come you’re awake so early?” Leona asked as she rubbed her eyes, “Usually you’re the last one I’ve got to get up… and weird, usually he does that and get back before we break camp.”  
  
“It’s just what he told me!” she said quickly, then frowned, “Leona. If…”  
  
“What’s up?”  
  
“I… er. Nevermind. It doesn’t matter anyways.”  
  
She blinked at her, then shrugged and went to help Neri with what little breakfast they had. It was only the crackers that Haidee had made a fuss about the night before, but there weren’t any complaints.  
  
Not having much to go on, Leona asked Haidee what direction Talah set out in, and the three started hiking again, trying their best to catch up quickly.   
  
“D'you hear that?” Neri asked suddenly at one point, and they stopped to look at her.  
  
“I don’t hear anyth…” Leona started, but was shushed, and blinked as she closed her eyes.  
  
“Someone callin’ m'name. They need me…”  
  
“Don’t answer it!” Haidee said suddenly, and Leona frowned, trying to hear, but failing completely.  
  
She opened her eyes and it was just her and Haidee, “Neri?!?” she started to run off, blinking when the other girl grabbed her around the waist, “But we’ve got to find her!”  
  
 _“You always try to protect everyone!”  
_  
Leona paused, and looked down at her friend, who was in tears, “…you know where we are.”  
  
“Of course I do!” she cried, “I’ve known since we came here! I couldn’t get Talah to stay because of that stupid  _stupid_  bird, and Neri kept hearing her name and left us!”  
  
“Haidee…” Leona said, then swallowed, “How?”  
  
“I don’t know! Something  _stupid_  probably. We were all together though, so it didn’t matter! If I had more time I could lead us out too, but now Neri’s gone, and Talah’s gone, and you’ll be gone soon too and I’ll be all alone! Again!”  
  
“No you won’t.”  
  
Haidee blinked, “You’ll hear your name and go.”  
  
“No,” Leona smiled sadly, “I won’t. Only three people that call it will make me, and one won’t ever be over here permanently, and the other just made her choice. That leaves you, and like you said, I’ve got to protect everyone. That’s  _you_  now.”  
  
She rubbed her eyes, “That’s not fair.”  
  
“I don’t care. You’ve always been one of my best friends. And the family I got over here won’t need me. You do.”  
  
“…and if Talah comes back?”  
  
“He can hang out with us,” Leona frowned, “I’m breaking a promise there. But…”  
  
Haidee was quiet for a moment, “We’ll go look for that phoenix. I saw where it went.”  
  
“…we can  _do_  that?”  
  
“Ugh, come on. Before I change my mind. You and your  _stupid_  promises.”


	14. Sunny Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3\. 🌞 - smiling sun - I mostly use this for “good morning” or just because I like yellow. What are early morning activities like for the otp+? Are any of the members morning people?
> 
> I mean, I established a bit ago that Leona makes everyone (well mostly) do the lovely exercise routine, but what about after that? Takes place probably a few years in the future, just long enough for them to be adults. Or at the least, in their late teens. Just a tiny one for today.

**Sunny Day**

Leona was always last in the shower, mostly because Neri knocked anyone down that got between her and hot water after the morning run and training. She wasn’t sure how Haidee got to it second, considering that she would still be asleep after her shower, just curled on the couch. She didn’t mind, even when the hot water ran out, which only happened twice. 

“AAAAACK!”  
  
Three times. And maybe she minded a little. It wouldn’t be that much for a second bathroom in their apartment, would it?

Coffee was already brewing in the kitchen, one of the very quiet signs that Talah was around, and she poured a cup before going out on the balcony, still toweling her hair as she watched the sunrise over the ocean.

Neri would be in her room, going over every possible detail for today’s hair and outfit. Haidee would be asleep for another few hours. This was one of the few things that was just hers, not that she minded if they got to share it.

It was her favorite thing to see. It was the very first thing she ever saw when Papa gave her one of his eyes so long ago, the sunrise over Durotor.

She hadn’t gotten tired of them since. And ocean sunrises were the absolute best.

Arms wrapped quietly around her, and she sighed at the unique smell of cigarettes, cookies, and the rest of that scent no one else had,  “Morning Umbrella.”  
  
“Morning Beachball.”  
  
Nothing more was said.  
  
Nothing needed to be.


	15. Sprout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4\. 🌱 - sprout - that soft nature aesthetic. Would any member of the otp+ treat their houseplants or garden like pets?
> 
> This takes place during current times! Kind of with the prompt. If you squint. Neri grows herbs and flowers, and this is the start of it.

**Sprout**

“Alrigh’ it’s been an hour and I haven’ died,” Neri said, “S’you aren’ pois’nous,” she held out her arm, “Now bite me.”  
  
“…do I have to…”  
  
“You’re t’one tha’s worried you’re venomous,” she pointed out to Leona, “Won’t tell me  _why_ , but hey, easy t’clear up.”  
  
The house-cat sized black dragon sighed and then leaned forward and clamped down on the skin. Neri hissed, then examined the bite marks when she finished.  
  
“…Well, no retractable fangs like a cobra. Tha’s a good sign. Jus’ reg’ sharp teeth.” she winced as she looked at the wound, “REALLY sharp teeth, ‘Ona, tha’ hurt!”

“…I told you this was stupid.”

“C’mon, I need t’get somethin’ t’keep this from gettin’ bad.”

“I AM VENOMOUS.”  
  
“…basic first aid ‘Ona. Help me pick t’herbs.” Neri sighed and picked up the tiny dragon and flopped her over her shoulder, then walked over to the area of Mira’s laboratory that she had set up like a greenhouse, “So h’come you’re worried ‘bout this anyways.”  
  
Leona didn’t answer, just flopped on the shelf in front of the medicinal plants, “Not telling you.”  
  
Neri giggled as she harvested a few leaves and put them in a stone bowl, “Pound these for me?” she asked, giving Leona the pestle, “An’ let me guess, y’kissed Talah finally?”

“No,” a little  _too_  quickly.  
  
“…” She just looked at the dragon, “…you came home like tha’… ‘ONA DID YOU BITE HIM?!?”  
  
 _“No!”_  
  
“You did somethin’! And you won’t tell me, which isn’t FAIR! I’d tell you!”

“…I really don’t ever want to know if you bite someone.”

Neri giggled and took some of the paste and spread it on the bite mark, “Muc’ bettah. Now c’mon, what did you do?”

“Nothing!” Leona flattened, “Hey…when did you start growing these anyways?”

“Y’mama said tha’ she needed medicine, and y’uncle didn’t grow any,” she said quietly, letting the dragon change the subject, “An’ I nevah had a garden ‘fore. I like it. I talk t’em an’ stuff. An’ I’m useful, righ’?”

“You worry too much about that.”

“Says t’dragon who’s worried she killed h’boyfriend. Again.”

“…he made a weird noise.”

“…” Neri stared at her, “Omigod, d’you seriously let me bite you because… ‘ONA!”

_“…WHAT?!?”_

“BOYS MAKE WEIRD NOISES! WHEN YOU… what  _did_ you do?”

“NOTHING!”

Neri giggled, “You did somethin’!” she teased, then glanced down at her arm, “An’ doesn’t look like I’m gonna die. So you’re just a normal bitey lizard. That can breathe fire and control rocks.”  
  
“Why’d he do that when I licked him then?”

“YOU WHA?!?”

_“NOTHING!!!!_ Go water your plants!”


	16. Alien

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5\. 👽 - alien - which member of the otp+ is out of this world? In what ways?  
> Oh maaan. There are so many ways I could have gone with this one. But of the group, the alien/odd one out is actually Leona. I mean, the others could be argued, but where she comes from compared to where they come from… well. This is pretty much my thoughts on that, so more stream of consciousness than actual story.

**Alien**

It was always strange to Leona that of her group of friends,  _she_  was the one with the most normal childhood.  
  
Talah was raised an assassin in a sadistic program that weeded out the weak and gave the strong so many anxiety disorders she wondered at how he and Rizzy were able to function normally. Neri had been a perfect Sin'dorei princess… up until the Scourge marched through and she escaped with her aunts and cousins to the first of many port towns, growing up mostly in the brothels where her aunt worked to keep the children fed. And Haidee… Leona wasn’t very sure on. But she knew that _whatever_  had happened in that girl’s life before meeting with her, it wasn’t good  _or_  natural.   
  
Every now and then she’d catch the little reminders that her friends had been broken. Talah’s anxiety on being touched. Neri’s fear of the dark and of rough men. Haidee’s worry on hunger or being alone again…  
  
The little dragon worried a great deal on how to make things better for them.  
  
Some of it was easy. Little signs of affection here and there that she had no problem giving. Healing was slow, but it was something that they did together.  
  
A lot of it was difficult. She just didn’t understand how a child could go without love and affection. Or how someone that  _did_  love a child would put them through situations that should have been avoided.  
  
Kit never  _not_  loved her. She may have been irresponsible at times, but Leona knew that the young monk had at least tried her best before the General had her adopted.  
  
And Mama was… well, downright scary at times. Certainly when she first came to live with her.  
  
But there were always forehead kisses and other tiny signs of affection. And Papa never ever had her doubting, even when he was lost all the time.  
  
Leona just…  _couldn’t_  understand.   
  
When Talah spoke in hushed tones of his training, she couldn’t fathom the cruelty that his teachers had, even with firsthand knowledge of what sort of man Hidden was.  
  
When she stayed up late with Neri one night, it was inconceivable to her that her friend’s aunt had considered suicide so many times. Not with Davon and Merry and Doolie depending on her.   
  
When Haidee wouldn’t stop eating for fear of the food disappearing, she had no idea of what it meant to be that hungry all the time.  
  
She tried to fix everything.  
  
She couldn’t change their past, and at one point, she finally accepted that.  
  
Leona was strange to them. She had a bad temper, she never stopped to think and rushed headfirst into everything, she was constantly in trouble and getting hurt. Her viewpoints had no sense to them.

Yet, she loved unconditionally and reminded them of it every chance she could get.   
  
Neri teased her once, said that while other dragons hoarded silver and gold, she hoarded their friendship.  
  
The little dragon disagreed. She hoarded books, weapons, sea-charts…  
  
But her friendships?  
  
Those she shared, as much as she could. She couldn’t change their past, couldn’t make things right there.  
  
So she was going to make sure their future was as bright and happy as she possibly could make them. That maybe one day they’d realize that love isn’t as alien a concept as it once was to them.


	17. Praise Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6\. 🙌 - praise hands - have a member or members of the otp+ shower the other/s with praise and/or help them celebrate their accomplishments.
> 
> I went with more celebration than anything else, and one of the birthdays I’m going to do with these prompts (Days 8 and 21 are going to be the other two). Takes place a little less than two years off, for Neri’s big day!  
> (Yes. Yes Neri does go to the Holy Church of Our Lady Molly of the Ringwald).  
> (…I’m absolutely certain there’s some version of her in Azeroth).

**Praise Hands**

**_Sixteen Candles:_ **

Neri was big on parties. When she was younger, it consisted of throwing birthday parties for her younger cousins when her aunt was far too sick or busy to take the time to make cake or fancy dresses (Davon hated big fusses, so she just made him a new set of clothes each year and bought him lunch).   
  
Now that she was older and a dragonsworn in training, she set her skills to good use on throwing parties in the Rookery for hatch-days and flying graduation and anything else she got permission from Zaerathian to celebrate the milestones of the whelplings for. Her room would be full of strewn papers with favorites marked down and sketches of fancy hats or glittery tutus, and she’d spend her time in thrift shops looking for the perfect thing to break down into scraps of fabrics for her designs.   
  
So for what according to Neri was the most important and holiest birthday of her life, her sixteenth, Leona started planning  _months_  in advance to throw her the perfect party, and now the day before, everything in Neri’s planning book was checked except for one tiny detail.  
  
 _“After I blow out my candles, I get a kiss from the cutie that’s my true love!”  
_  
That was it, no details, no description of looks, of course no names,  _NOTHING_ to go on. Leona had racked her brain trying to at least figure out Neri’s type, but she had gone on so many dates the last year it was dizzying, and never with the same person for more than a few weeks.  
  
Granted, Neri had horrible tastes when it came to dating. At least three of those guys had been in a cult of some sort. One tried to sacrifice her!  
  
Talah and Haidee were absolutely no help either. The only guys  _he_  knew outside of Atlas were all just as bad if not worse than the cultists, and Haidee thought the entire idea was disgusting.  
  
Leona finally just gave up on it, working on everything else and pushing it to the back of her mind. July the Ninth even was a perfect day, it wasn’t as oppressively hot as the rest of that week had been, and the sunrise was one of the prettiest in a long time. Davon and Merry had arrived the night before and were finishing up the decorations in the Rookery now, as Leona and Haidee kept Neri distracted until Talah sent the signal.  
  
She was delighted when she saw the dress that had been made for her, all out of completely new fabric. She giggled when Leona and Haidee both wore suits (Leona went so far as to even make Haidee’s doll wear a suit) to escort her to the party, and then when she saw the decorations and cake and all the guests there, she only had one thing to say that perfectly captured everything.  
  
 _“Gor…”_  
  
Leona grinned, everything was  _perfect.  
_  
Except that one nagging detail…She glanced over the guests real quick, hoping that maybe she overlooked someone that may have had a secret crush…  
  
Not a chance.  
  
The cake was lit and coming closer, and the singing had started, Leona started to panic as Neri grinned and leaned forward to blow out the candles.Taking a deep breath, she decided there was only  _one_  thing to do.  
  
Neri turned nearly as red as Leona was after the kiss. Haidee had fallen over in laughter. Everyone else was just staring.  
  
“…SORRY!” Leona cried, clapping her hands, “It was… just in your book, and I know I’m not cute or your true love, but it was a _kiss_ , right?”  
  
“…You based this all on tha’ plannin’ book?” Neri asked with wide eyes, then started laughing herself,“Omigod, ‘Ona! Tha’ was a wish book! I jus’ saw it in a movie once!” thankfully someone, probably Lis, had started cutting the cake and dispersing the crowd, “…You’re nevah gonna hear t’end of this.”  
  
Leona sighed, sitting down next to Neri and picking at her slice of cake, “Probably not. But… good birthday, right?”  
  
“The absolute  _best_. Got kissed by t’cutest person here.”


	18. Pill/Vitamin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7\. 💊 - pill/vitamin - old fave: one (or more) member/s of the otp+ is sick and the other/rest are taking care of them. Or: the otp+ reminding each other to take their meds. 
> 
> I had so many ideas for this one, but I kept tossing them out and went with a rather odd thing, Leona’s growing up and puberty hits like a ton of bricks (especially her. Oh man some of the stuff incoming). So warnings for the sorts of things that come with puberty, and I won’t tag in this one this time in case you really want to gloss over the fact that characters are growing up. 
> 
> There was a lot with Neri I ended up cutting, because I was going to put in a conversation about how she’s so damn calm about the whole ordeal, aside from getting her first near two years ago. If you actually really want to know, pm me and I can give you that.
> 
> Takes place in a few months to a year from now. And before you ask… nope. This one she doesn’t grow a single inch taller in either form.

**Pill/Vitamin**

Shedding season was never a good time for Leona, and this time was the absolute worst she had ever remembered it being. It wasn’t enough that her skin felt as it was on fire and too tight, her stomach was hurting so much, and she was just _exhausted_. Ms. Raine had given her some herbs to put in tea to calm her nauseum, but it didn’t seem to help.

She was chalking it up to a really bad season, her next growth spurt was going to have to be more than just a few inches. Maybe she’ll finally be a decent sized dragon! The thoughts would cheer her up for a few moments, but then the next wave of pain would hit and she’d be near incapacitated.

It wasn’t until a week after season started that Leona woke up Neri with an earthquake and a scream.

She ran into the bedroom, took one look at the dragon huddled under her blankets in terror and another at the sheets and sighed loudly.

“Don’t worry ‘bout tha’, jus’ a nightmare,” she said on the communicators, then picked up the dragon, took her to the shower and sat her down, “You stop panickin’. You’re not bleedin’ t’death or anything, jus’ your period.” Leona was covering her head with her claws and sobbing loudly, and Neri sat down outside the tub, “…Might as well clean up, it ain’t gonna stop jus’ cause you don’t want one.”  
  
It took a few moments of gentle patting her back to get the small dragon to stop hyperventilating, and another of just sitting quietly and waiting for the fit to be over.

“You talk like you’ve had it a long time,” Leona said glumly as she transformed with a hiccup and wiped her eyes, “Is it always this bad?”

“Some months are bettah than others,” Neri shrugged, “And I’ve had it since I was twelve. Had t’hide it too. Otherwise I’d be workin’ at the Brothel. Y’Mama really never talked t’you ‘bout this?”

Leona turned bright red, “…I… she might have. I just really didn’t pay attention. And I’m a dragon, so it’s  _different_ , right?”   
  
“Not tha’ different ‘parently. Clean up, I’ve got supplies in m’room. Hey, maybe you’ll only get it durin’ sheddin’ season, tha’s not so bad, jus’ twice a year,” she paused, “Course I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout dragons, we’d have t’ask ‘bout tha’.”

“When Mama gets back, I’ll just ask her,” she reached to turn on the shower, “This is so stupid and  _weird_ , I’m not even a drake yet.”

Neri pulled the curtain closed, “I’m not grown yet, and was even  _less_  grown when I started mine. It’s jus’ so y’body’s all ready for when you  _are_. Or so Auntie told me. Goin’ t’get you some clean clothes and them supplies. Be righ’ back.”

An hour later, in the softest pajamas she didn’t know she had, Leona made her way to the living room to see Neri and Haidee there building a pillow fort.

“I got Talah t’bring by some sandwiches and chocolate, an’ he promised t’read t’you later,” Neri said happily, “But tonight, it’s goin’ t’be just a perfectly normal girl’s night in.”

“I liberated cake from the cafeteria for us!” Haidee added, “Neri said you were depressed, that’s just  _not_  acceptable! We’ll take care of you.”

Leona blinked, then slowly smiled, “…not that you mention it… I’m really hungry…”

“Good,” Neri beamed, “Now you sit righ’ down an’ let me worry ‘bout everythin’ ‘Ona. I know jus’ what t’do.”

It was a long night, and the next few days were even longer. Leona  _hated_  the entire ordeal, hated that she was growing up in all the  _wrong_  ways. Shedding season was going to be impossible from here on out, even with the three she loved most adding little things to make it bearable for her.

But…  _oh_ , those little things…  Talah read to her while softly scratching behind her horns. Haidee saved her the larger slices of cakes and put on plays with her dolls. Neri showed her how to keep a calendar and the best way to use the herbs and a hot-water bottle to make the cramps seem not  _as_  bad.

Those little things meant more than everything to her.

Growing up may not be so bad… as long as she did it with them.


	19. Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8\. 🍰 - cake - the otp+ bake a cake! Or: … not food cake,,, like a butt. Which member of the otp+ got da booty?
> 
> Well, the original idea was making a giant cake for Haidee’s birthday but I changed it to not quite that, instead it’s Leona and Neri having a conversation while making Haidee’s cake and their feelings on the other two of the friends forever ship and maybe a few other people they have relationships with.
> 
> The cake is their friendship!  
> *gets stuff thrown at her*
> 
> Probably a few months off. I’m not sure when Haidee’s birthday actually is (I don’t think her player knows either). And hey, at least one member of the group hasn’t gone to tomorrow yet, so not quite late!

**Cake**

“How long ‘ave y'known her anyways?”  
  
“Pretty much almost as long as I can remember. Which isn’t that long, but I guess we met right before I got hit with the second age curse. So… yeah, we’ve been friends for a long time.”  
  
“…Second age curse?”  
  
“Kit got hit with something nasty and I absorbed it out of her,” Leona turned bright red, “I…actually was an adult for a couple of days before Serene and Mama took care of it. It… was a really big mess. And  _probably_  what sealed the General setting up my adoption.”  
  
“Y'confessed t'someone didn’t you?”  
  
“NO!” a little too quickly, “… _yes_ … to Evie…” she added in a quieter voice, “I… don’t even remember doing it, and that crush really deflated later on, but I… and you cannot tell  _anyone_  this… used to want to marry Kit and Evie and Fever.”  
  
“All of 'em?”  
  
“…Judessa too. I wanted us to all live together in a fancy house. And Kit and I would go on adventures and…” she sighed, “That all changed after Blade’s Edge. The Whispers scared me a little before, but after that… the Nightmares… they had that massacre to add to, and I was really frightened of what would happen.”  
  
Neri smiled sadly, “Davie and I promised each other tha’ we’d marry each other. My Mama and his Da were twins, bu’ we wanted t'take care of each other. We exchanged rings an’ ever'thin’. I still got it, locked up in t'secret part of m'sketchbook. He wears his still. It’s… what y'do when you’re six an’ don’t know betteh I guess.”  
  
“You  _should_  wear it, just call it your cousin ring,” Leona grinned, “He’s got his boyfriend now, but that promise means a lot more. You do both still look out for each other.”  
  
“You’re not gonna make fun o'me?”  
  
“I’ll beat up anyone that does. You and Davon are still pretty close, and he’s important to you, him and Merry and Doolie. But he’s been through everything with you, right?”  
  
Neri nodded, “His birthday’s jus’ a month after mine, so yeah. I’d have never made it if it weren’t for him and Auntie.”  
  
“It must have been nice always having a family.”  
  
“Oh  _don’t_  give me tha’. 'Ona, you just had a  _bunch_ of families. Not as bad as some I’ve heard of, but jus’ cause it took you a bit longer t'get t'your forever home don’t mean that you an’ Kit weren’t sisters already!”  
  
“Yeah… and I’ve had Serene and Mama even before the adoption…” she giggled, “I even had dreams of a big brother looking out for me, I don’t know who he could be, just more… a feeling I get.”  
  
“That why y'adopted the Commander and Jack?”  
  
“I guess. Dar saved me, and he really felt like a big brother then, and it sort of stuck. And Mama wasn’t used to someone actually welcoming her other than the General or Uncle Terry. Well, Kit. But Kit’s usually the sort that barges into people’s houses. I don’t think Mama had many friends,”Leona sighed, “Granted she never really left her lab much before Papa and me. She said something about a trip in Stranglethorn Vale going seriously wrong once and she’s been scared about screwing up.”  
  
“Y'Mama’s okay, so y'Papa. They’ll come back home soon.”  
  
“Yeah… Auntie tells me some things about Papa, but… it’s weird, before the Trials, when I was just seeing out of his eye, Papa and I talked all the time. And a little bit after even, right up until the Sword fell. Now… it’s not much that I get from him.”  
  
“From what y'told me tha’ cave was like, he an’ your Uncle have got t'be busy tryin’ to heal everything inside Azeroth up. He’s still real worried 'bout you, I bet. An’ I bet he’s concentratin’ on keepin’ y'Mama alrigh’. You told me they were bonded right? So since he knows you’re safe, he’s watchin’ out for her.”  
  
“Uncle Vonic’s probably treating him rough too,” Leona sighed, “Poor Papa.”  
  
“He’ll be home soon, they  _both_  will. So… are y'gonna  _tell_  y'Papa?”  
  
“…tell him what?”  
  
“You  _know_ …” Neri smirked, “You and Talah  _have_  kissed by now, righ’?”  
  
She turned bright red, “… _how_  did you…”  
  
“AHA! I KNEW IT! Y'two had thi’ air and  _I KNEW IT_!”  
  
“…Papa probably has trials for anyone that kisses me,” Leona’s eyes grew wide, “Oh gah, what if he  _dies_  during them!”  
  
“…I seriously  _doubt_ y'Papa is going to kill y'boyfriend,” Neri paused, “…Y'Mama will  _make sure_ y'Papa don’t kill y'boyfriend.”  
  
“…I didn’t tell you because I knew you liked him too.”  
  
Neri blinked, “So? I like you both. An’ Haidee’s cute too. 'Ona, in case y'haven’t noticed, I fall in love at t'drop of a hat. I can barely go two feet in this place w'out runnin’ into a crush. ‘Sides, you two are really happy when you’re together, an’ don’t think I haven’t  _noticed_  y'look when he calls you 'Lee.’ I nearly melt into goo  _m'self_!”  
  
“…Think the cake’s big enough?”  
  
“Changin’ t'subject don’t change y'knees goin’ weak. But nah. We need another layer. An’ loads of frostin’. Haidee deserves the biggest cake we can get her.”  
  
“You made the dress for her doll too?”  
  
“Of course! They’re t'prettiest damn thin’s I ever made too!”  
  
Leona smiled, “I hope that she likes it… It’s really more an anniversary than a birthday, but it counts, right?”

“Course it does. We better add two more layers to t’cake. I want it as big as she is!”


	20. Thumbs Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9\. 👍- thumbs up - yes, good, I agree. What’s something the otp+ are on the exact same page about?
> 
> Dragon Knights. The coolest thing ever.
> 
> The problem is… well… they only have a very small dragon o_o   
> (Set during current times)

**Thumbs Up**

"I…don’t think that this is going to work…”  
  
“It’s a great idea! We can at least be ready for when you’re FINALLY big enough!”  
  
“An’ you’re easily twice t'size as y'were when we met!”  
  
Leona looked from Haidee to Neri, then sighed, shrinking down to her house-cat sized dragon form, “…This is why I wanted to be a knight! I can’t even fly!”  
  
“We’ll work on tha’! Besides, Haidee’s plan is brilliant. An’ this way, we’ll all be riders,” Neri paused, “…Well, ‘cept you of course.”  
  
“Okay! This is me, and I’ll be doing the cool magic stuff,” Haidee pulled out a small rag doll dressed in a pretty green cloak and black robes, “And this is Neri, and she’ll be doing the rangery thing,” another doll dressed in tiny scale mail dress, “And Talah can do some more stuff,” a third doll dressed in a near exact replica of Zaerathian’s armor.  
  
Leona placed her claws over them, resisting the urge to turn elf again just to see them, “…You  _made_ these.”  
  
“I made t'clothes!” Neri said happily, “An’ Haidee and I will make some for t'Rookery too. I found a book in y'secret language that talked all 'bout dragonsworn and riders and everythin’!”  
  
“So all you have to do is get real big and learn to carry all three of us.” Haidee added.  
  
“I’m pretty sure flying and fighting as a dragon are in there too,” Leona said quietly, “But… strength training is part of the basics! And Papa says that you have to master the basics before anything else. You weighted them down right?”  
  
“Uh… sure…” Neri rubbed the back of her head, “I mean, I used actual scraps of armor to make t'clothes, and Haidee put sand in t'stuffing?”  
  
“Okay… but the saddle? How are all three…” Leona’s voice trailed off as Neri started buckling a harness on her, “…Oh.”  
  
“I designed it based on what I read!” Neri grinned, “I’m gettin’ smarter 'Ona! I had t'add some thin’s, but… well, I want all of us together.”  
  
Haidee took a moment to load the dolls, “Okay… Neri, you’ll have to be in front, cause you’re Leona’s eyes up there… and I’ll be in the front basket ready to cast and maybe take a nap. Talah will sit on the back saddle in case anyone tries to sneak up on us!”  
  
“Maybe we should ask 'im where he wants t'sit? He might want front and me watchin’ the rear. 'Ona can kinda get along without sight.”  
  
“FINE, when he gets back from WHATEVER he’s doing, we’ll ask,” Haidee got up, “Alright! We got a course set up for you Leona! We’ll save the flying stuff for later, but we’ll be busy fighting bad guys, right?”  
  
“…please let Talah want t'sit up front and steer…” Neri muttered under her breath, and Leona playfully snapped at her fingers.  
  
“Okay, so… the training is making it through the course while making sure that I keep all the dolls safe,” Leona sniffed the air to get her bearings, “But… they can’t really…”  
  
“I’ll shout out directions,” Neri said, “Haidee an’ I made it pretty simple for right now, an’ she’s right, when you do fly and carry us, I’ll probably be your eyes. Now y'can at least ask the rocks.”  
  
Haidee grinned, “Now remember! The basket in front is the most important! And the course is right in front of you, so…ready… set… GO!”  
  
Leona was off and running, climbing over and under the obstacles the other two had set up as they chased after her, yelling and cheering as they forgot it as training and just had fun for the next few hours.


	21. Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10\. ❤ - heart - love, with all its various meanings. How does the otp+ express their love for each other?
> 
> I’m focusing on Leona, something she’s been working on for a while to help Talah when he dies and comes back.

**Heart**

**_Gemstone’s Log_**.

_Neri’s been working really hard on learning blacksmithing from Lis. She says that if we’re going to insist on going into dangerous places that damnit we can at least wear nice looking armor. She doesn’t know about your abilities yet, but she’s really been sketching like mad in her book working on some stuff.  
    
She did actually make the outfits for the dolls that the dragon’s training with for when she gets bigger, so she has a little practice. I think maybe she’s planning on making you armor like Zaerbear’s. And no, you can’t have the doll that Haidee made to look like you, the dragon likes it too much. I’m going to ask that she make one for Renni too.   
  
Let’s see… it’ll take a while for the dragon to be big enough to ride. So I’ll update you when that happens.   
  
I guess the nice thing is one day she will be big enough and you’ll just wake up and have a dragon to ride and probably quit the Conclave. Or have a whole mess of other missions and just completely show off.  
  
Er… the dragon is still working on that whole flying thing. But she’ll totally have it down when she’s big enough. She promises.  
  
So, I promise. The black dragon sleeping at the temple is  **not**  there to eat you.   
  
…YES I know that’s what a black dragon that WAS planning to eat you would say.  
  
She’s NOT.   
  
…she might lick you, but that’s not tasting you, I promise. She’s just really happy to see you.  
_  
“…Y'know if he ever reads these when not hit with that weird memory thing, he’s gonna make so much fun o'you, right?”  
  
Leona jumped, whirling around to see Neri, “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?”  
  
“So what’s all this ‘nyways?” she picked up a thick notebook and flipped through it, “Gemstone’s notes… 'Ona, you have a secret nickname?”  
  
“No. It’s just… something Uncle Rizzy called me. It’s just a pet name.”  
  
“Okay…” Neri frowned, “Um. 'Ona…”  
  
“He just loses his memories every now and then, it’s no…”  
  
“Yeah, I know tha’, but… Why aren’t you tellin’ him 'bout yourself. Like. At all. I mean, you mention you as a dragon, but it’s like it’s his pet, not you. An’ you really tell him about everyone else. Like full details. My accent ain’t tha’ bad by t'way,” she flipped a page and snickered, “…Yeah, I am pretty scared of spiders…”  
  
“You weren’t until Zuldazar,” Leona chewed the inside of her cheek, “…It’s really hard for me to do that though. I don’t want to force it.”  
  
“…give me a cool nickname.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“C'mon, c'mon. If y'can do all this, no reason I can’t add somethin’. No peekin’ neither.”  
  
“Fine. Uh…” she scrunched her nose in thought, “I got nothing. Talah’s the one good at nicknames.”  
  
“Oh fiiiiiiiine. I’m gonna seal it up, you just stick it in. An’ no peekin’!”  
  
“I won’t. I promise.”  
  
Neri grinned, “Good! Now go do somethin’ while I write it up.” **  
**  
**_The Beautiful and Wonderful Neri’s Notes.  
_**  
_First off, I don’t bray like a donkey, and I owe you a good punch on the arm for that._  
  
_Second off, I don’t know why you lose your memory, Ona didn’t tell me. But you better not forget her. She’s the one that wrote all these notes for you in the first place and she does a whole lot of other little things for you._  
  
_Let’s see, you call her Beachball. Something about her not having an edge. And that Dragon she talks about like it’s your pet, that’s her. Except she’s not always a dragon. Hell, she ain’t a dragon a third of the time. She’s the size of a housecat, so maybe she wants to feel tall._  
  
_Granted, she’s the shortest of us even as an elf, but hey. She’s cute… flatter than a pancake, and with that silly training regiment she does, I don’t see that changing any time soon, but she is cute. Especially now that she grew her hair out of that ridiculous spiky short stuff and started wearing pigtails. I mean, little ones. But still._  
  
_She really loves you too. Even before she realized that she loved you, she did._  
  
_It’s important, so don’t forget it._  
  
_Okay, so little things about her. Since she didn’t write a damn one of them down:_  
  
_Leona Tina Oathblood (she picked her own middle name when her birth certificate was forged, so don’t make too much fun of it)._  
  
_Birthday: January 24 (Her mama tested the eggshell from her hatching, so we know her age for sure)_  
  
_Favorite Color, and it took me FOREVER to figure it out: Pink. NO! I’m serious, it’s because of sunrises!_  
  
_She used to be blind, and still is blind as a dragon, and I have no idea how that all works out. And keep a watch on her, if her vision starts to go, she’ll fake it. She’d done it twice already. Don’t know what’s going on there, but they were right after she talked to the stones for a bit._  
  
_Favorite Food: Udon with Scallops. Second Favorite Food: Deep Fried Candy Bars from Darkmoon Faire._  
  
_Really, just take her to eat on a date. And be prepared to either dine and dash or pay a heap. The girl can put it away. And she complains about how much HAIDEE eats._  
  
_I don’t know how you two met. I’m assuming through her Uncle Rizzy (and something’s not right about him), but I do know it was while she was on a trip with him in Pandaria. And I also know that she wants to go to a resort there with you again and has been saving up a bit from odd jobs._  
  
_She **melts**  when you call her Lee._  
  
_Hell, I melt when you call her Lee, it’s damn cute._  
  
_Shoot. Running out of paper and if this is going to be sealed, then it’s got to be short._  
  
_Talah, you two have got this secret about your memories that neither will tell me and that’s fine. But I mean it, you **absolutely**  cannot ever forget her. Ever. Ona’s never going to forget you, and she’s not going to leave you either. She promised us that, and she **never** breaks a promise. _  
  
_So. No worries. Because she’s going to keep working on this notebook for you so you won’t ever forget anything again, and if you need to, come see me and I’ll fill you in on everything about her. Because she’s an idiot who won’t write about herself. Except to tell you that you’ve got a pet dragon because she’s got issues with admitting that you two kissed. And I can keep secrets! I haven’t told anyone since I figured it out!_  
  
_And don’t worry about her lack of edge. She can beat up bad guys with the best of them and still blush when you call her Lee. She’ll protect us, but damnit, we’ve got to protect her too. Cause she’s really stupid sometimes and gets into trouble._  
  
_It’s worth it though. I love her too._  
  
_Remember. Lee loves you. Even if she makes a big fuss about things being weird and all that, don’t believe it for a second, because she’s just loud when embarrassed. She really really does, and I know cause I’m her best friend and her sworn and all that, so no way she could fool me on it._  
  
_Oh and try to stop forgetting everything. She cries everytime it happens. And causes a major earthquake. At some point she’s gonna destroy a whole continent or something and it’ll be all your fault._


	22. Four Leaf Clover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11\. 🍀 - four leaf clover - “good luck.” “I’m going to need it.” 
> 
> I failed so so bad at this one. So here’s what I did do, the first one is set a few months away and the second part years away.

**Four Leaf Clover**

##  **_Noodles_ **

“Didja see t’letter from Davie?”

“I don’t normally read your mail Neri, what’d he say?”

“This new place is openin’ up in Halfhill and they’re havin’ a promotion… a noodle eating contest,” she read over the letter, “Man, kinda wish I could get in on this. First Prize is a tour of t’silk farm out tha’ way and a thousand gold worth of t’stuff.”

Leona blinked, “Are they the ones opening it or something? That’s a lot of money…” she scrunched her nose in thought, “Not a bad promotion though. But if any dragons or Uncle Rizzy or anyone gets wind of it, they could be out of business before…”

“I want  _you_  t’enter it for me.”

“…what are you going to do with a thousand gold worth of silk?”

Neri just stared at her and slowly held up her design book.

“I guess we just need permissions from the adults,” Leona rubbed the back of her head, “But seriously, I don’t know if I can out eat  _everyone_.”

“D’you not remember t’dumpling incident last week?”

“For the last time, I did not unhinge my jaw!”

“…how many bowls do y’think y’ _can_  eat?”  
  
Leona scrunched her nose in thought, “…depends. Looks like there aren’t going to be many extras in the ramen. But as long as there are no other dragons. Or Uncle Rizzy. I should be able to win it.”

Neri grinned, “I’ll make sure t’bring t’antacids.”

* * *

##  _Gladiator_

_CRASH_

Leona just stared up at the sky after being thrown into the stands.

“…hey, you okay?”

Neri’s and Talah’s face came into view and somewhere the referee started counting.

She took a deep breath and sat up, taking another second to gather herself.

“You can do this. You just have to not get grabbed again,” Neri said, “An’ uh, no pressure or anythin’, but we do kinda have five thousand gold ridin’ on t’fight.”

“He’s got a blind spot on his right side, do something stupid and flashy and roll around when he lunges again,” Talah added as he helped her up.

“Where did we get five thousand gold…?”

“We’ll have it when you win t’fight, now get in there and go for t’kneecaps.”

Leona swayed for a moment as she stood, nearly falling down again as both caught her.

“…You can finish t’fight right?” Neri’s voice started to get a bit of worry in it, “I mean, I got t’money…”

Talah leaned over and whispered something in Leona’s ear, and she briefly blushed before shaking away from both of them and rushing back into the fight.  
  
Whatever he said worked, the fight only lasted another few seconds, with her proclaimed as the winner, and she managed to make it back to the stands before passing back out.


	23. Waving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12\. 👋 - waving - Hello! The otp+ are reunited and it feels so good. Alternatively, Catch These Hands: one member of the otp+ gets into a fight. 
> 
> I went with reunion. Short one for today that’s set a good bit off.

**Waving**

Reunions were always physical with Leona. She believed in large hugs that knocked the others to the ground, forehead rubs, cheek kisses, and a great many happy tears.  
  
This time was a little different.  
  
Oh… no, Neri still got knocked down. Haidee got tangled in her robes and the other’s limbs and nearly got a concussion. Talah had actually managed to stay standing for a split second and kissed her first. There was still a pile of the four of them within five seconds of the reunion.

What was different was that Leona didn’t have any big stories about why she was gone, and she didn’t jump up right away, embarrassed about the large display of affections, even when Neri started teasing her.  
  
It had been family business, not as serious as the Trials were, but still something Very Important that kept her away for months and if it weren’t for the little animals she had carved for them, and the occasional tiny golden mole that would bring gifts and messages, they wouldn’t have had any word from her.  
  
Granted, she had sent messages nearly every day…  
  
The not-quite-as-little dragon held on to her friends, not wanting to let them go.   
A few minutes later they did untangle themselves and got up. They had jobs to do, it was only a little bit of time before they’d go their separate paths again.  
  
The next reunion would be the same as this one, no loud wails or large stories, no embarrassment at being so loud at missing them.   
  
They had grown past that. The dreaded moment that Leona had feared had come and past, she was an adult now, the Last Trial had been passed and the black dragon that was the Heir of Lasul had fully taken back what Neltharion had given to the Oathblood clan so many centuries before, his promise had finally been fulfilled.

She still had her own promises to keep. Ones she had made carelessly as a child, that meant ever so much more to her now.  
  
One of them took her hand as another linked her other arm with hers, and the third one jumped on her back.   
  
Things were different. They weren’t children anymore.  
  
Yet, some things would never change.


	24. Silly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13\. 😛 - silly/ sticking tongue out / :P - The otp+ teasing or fooling around with each other. 
> 
> I was actually stuck on this one (as much fooling around as these kids do).
> 
> This idea came from going to a reptile and amphibian show at the university I’m applying to attend: “What if the whelplings at the Rookery got a show to teach them about the different humanoids…” 
> 
> It also showcases one of the two rules with Neri’s family. 1) Don’t make fun of the accent. 2) NEVER tell Merry her wolf ears and tail are fake and she’s not a worgen like her Da is.
> 
> This is probably just a few months away. And just… yeah, I’m sorry for the crack.

**Silly**

“Now b’careful an’ only pet this worgen on the back and don’t pull her hair or nothin’,” Neri was saying as the dark half-elf girl in the chair beside her growled loudly.

“She’s not a real worgen is she?” one of the tiny dragons squeaked as she hid behind a chair.

“I bet those ears are fake,” another said loudly.

“They are not!” Merry said as her hands went up to grab at them, “ER! I mean Grrrr. For Gilneas!”

“This is easily the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen,” the autumn haired boy sitting in front of Leona groaned, “When I was told I was getting babysat by Aunt Mira again, I expected something more  _fun_.”

“Sorry Taladren, Mama grounded us from fun,” Leona said, “And it’s not that bad.”  
  
“It was my idea anyways!” Merry said happily, “People poke at dragons whenever they see them, so let some poke at people. It’s only fair!”

“…not that many people get to see dragons,” whispered the boy sitting on the other side of Taladren, wrapped up in his robes, who was trying to not poke curiously and instead stared with wide eyes at the whelplings.

“Besides, you can’t be a worgen!” Taladren complained, ignoring Neri and Leona trying to shush him, “Mama says the curse can only be passed through the blood or if bitten, none of the kids of Gilneans born after were afflicted. Those ears and tails ARE fake!”

“Oh no,” Neri covered her face with her palm as Leona moved to catch Merry before she attacked Taladren.

Which of course meant that she took the bite that was clearly meant for him.

“Oh  _no_  ‘Ona!” Merry covered her mouth, “I bit you! I’m  _SORRY_!”

“It’s okay, it’s jus…” Leona paused, then smirked, “Oh no! I was bit by a  _WORGEN_!”

All the whelplings suddenly gasped,  _“THAT MEANS SHE’S A WORGEN NOW!”_ one screamed in the back.

Merry just stared, “…’Ona… y’ _know_ …”

She winked at her, and then started feeling on her arm, “The wound is getting fuzzy! I must have been CURSED! Neri! You brought someone DANGEROUS in here.”

“Oh how COULD I!” Neri cried, “There’s no cure for it either!”

Taladren groaned loudly as the whelplings just stared, “Can you  _believe_ this…?” he asked the other boy next to him, who swallowed.

“THERE IS A CURE!” he shouted.

“There  _is_?!?” Neri and Merry chorused.

Leona smiled, “Andre, if you know what it is…”

“Cookies! Uh…  _Silver_  Covenant Cookies!” he rolled up his sleeve, “I know how to conjure them!”

Merry giggled, “Better hurry up! Before she starts howling! Or I get hungry for BLOOD!”

“You didn’t even draw any when you bit her the first time!” Taladren pointed out.

She placed her hands on her hips, “Bet I’ll draw blood if I bite YOU,” she snapped, then sighed as Leona grabbed under her arms and lifted her up, “…Fiiiiiiine, I won’t bite him.”

By that time Andre had summoned the cookies, and quickly stuffed one in Leona’s mouth before passing them to the whelplings, “You can’t get cursed now! These will protect you until she gets you back safely to Mr. Swiftfire!”

“Urge to howl at moon… fading…” Leona fell to the floor with Merry on top of her, then sat up, “I’m normal again!”

“…depends on y’idea of  _normal_ ,” Neri stuck her tongue out at her, then blinked as a whelpling raised a claw, “Yes?”

“…C…can we pet the worgen now?”  
  
“And the mage?” another asked pointing at Andre as he chewed on a cookie.

“Sure!” Merry said happily linking elbows with Andre, “An’ y’can pet the grumpy nerfherder too!” she grabbed Taladren and pulled at his lips, “See. Don’t believe in nothin’, even when it’s right in front of ‘im!”

“Told ya it wasn’t a bad idea,” Neri whispered to Leona.

“…It’s not like they don’t see…” she sighed, then giggled as the whelplings nearly knocked down the three children in an attempt to touch them, “Fine, it wasn’t a bad idea. It’s kind of cute.”


	25. Ice Cream, Candy, and Heart Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14\. 🍦- ice cream - I don’t even have a euphemism. The otp+ go out for some ice cream. Or try making some on their own. Which option results in the biggest mess?  
> 15\. 🍬 - candy -  
> 16\. 😍 - heart eyes - “I wish someone would look at me the way you look at _____.” plot twist: someone does.
> 
> Combination (totally not because I missed a few days, TOTALLY NOT THAT) because the ice cream and candy sort of go together and well, so does talking about forlorn love lives.
> 
> Set many years in the future, enough for Neri to have a really bad record of boy/girl friends, and both to be of drinking age.
> 
> I never did finish the rest of the challenge due to RP plots taking off. I might go back to this someday.

**Ice Cream, Candy, And Heart Eyes**

“Whatcha doin’?”  
  
Leona stuck out the tip of her tongue in concentration as she placed the cherry perfectly on top of the large sundae, then turned to Neri and held up two spoons, “Lis says ice cream’s the best for some things, and you’ve been crying all day. So I thought I’d make you the Leona Surprise!”  
  
“What’s t’surprise?”  
  
“I’m not sure, I bought the ice cream in Thousand Needles and that gnome’s  _not_  right in the head…” she grinned, “And I got sprinkles and those chocolate candies and whipped cream too.”  
  
Neri giggled and sat down at the breakfast bar next to her, “We’re old enough t'go drinkin’ now, ain’t tha’ what Ellyri suggested?”  
  
“Getting drunk is what  _landed_  you in this situation,” Leona snorted as she took a bite, “Oh. As your dragon I order you to not go home with random people any more. Before I forget.”  
  
“I guess I wouldn’t be in so much trouble if a certain dragon wasn’t told by her Mama that going home with randos while drunk is how you get eggs,” Neri teased, “But… as your sworn, it is my duty to inform you that you don’t have to worry about that, mmm.” The last bit was as a spoon of ice cream was stuck in her mouth.

“Why not?”  
  
“Because you do nothin’ but talk ‘bout how pretty Talah’s eyes are,” she stuck a spoonful in her dragon’s mouth, “Usually t'Talah, which is funny as hell t'watch by t'way.”  
  
Leona turned bright red,  _“I do not!”  
_  
“I will call him right now,” Neri threatened her with her spoon, “An’ Ellyri and Luce have got it all recorded,” she sighed, taking a bite herself, “I wish someone would look at me t'way you look at each him.”  
  
“You’re beautiful, someone does.”  
  
“Yeah, b'who?”  
  
“How should I know, if I’m only concerned with how pretty Talah’s eyes are,” she stuffed ice cream in Neri’s mouth then and stuck out her tongue, “Someone does though. Okay, trust me on this. And if it keeps you from making a bad decision, I’ll talk to Talah and you kiss us the next time you get drunk.”  
  
Neri stared at her.  
  
 _“What?”  
_  
“How 'bout you two jus’ set me up w'someone?”  
  
“…because we only know operatives? And pirates,” Leona scrunched her nose in thought, “…though, that can’t be worse than the cult leader that tried to sacrifice you to get that bit of void.”  
  
“Or the paladin that tried to kill me when he saw t'tentacle. And t'black dragon mark,” Neri sighed, “Maybe I’ll take you up on that. Makin’ out w'friends sounds ni…mmm.”  
  
“It’s just until you get your own person to kiss and only if Talah agrees,” Leona said as she took the spoon away and giggled, “Let’s have some higher standards this time. If we or Lis don’t approve, then you’re not going out with them. New orders from your dragon.”  
  
“…gah you’re so bossy.”  
  
“You’ve got  _really_  bad tastes.” **  
**  
Both stuck their tongues out at each other and went back to eating the giant sundae.


End file.
